NATURE CLUB SURAT

Environment Education & Research centre

 Forthcoming Activities

Monsoon Camp   Dangs

Nature Education Camp - Dangs 2008

Wild Venture Camp Dandeli, Karnataka

Bird Watching Trip Nalsarovar 2009

Himalayan Experience camp Manali 2009

Nature Art & Craft Workshop, Saputara

  Opportunities @ Nature Club Surat

Call of Indian Birds Vol-1,2,3 & 4

Book on "Amphibians of Gujarat"

JUNGLE BOOK

September 2006

FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK

Dear Friends,

With monsoon in full swing, our club members are busy planting trees. There were two programs organzized - one at our Gavier Wetland protection area and other at Mangrove Interpretation Centre in Hazira.

Our club is also involved in consultation for tree plantation at O.N.G.C and L.N.G. Hazira.

Our vulture conservation program which has now spread all over Gujarat is also catching up momentum - a report is enclosed.

Shri Lavkumar Khachar gave a surprise visit and gave us valuable guidance for our Gavier Wetland project.

Mr. Ansari, Conservator of Forests, Surat also visited our wetland project and prepared a list of all the plants and climbers found in that area.

Our posters of Birds and Butterfly has been ordered by an industrialist in Maharashtra in Marathi and Hindi language for schools in Kolhapur and Satara area.

Our new educational book on ‘Amphibians’ by Dr. Raju Vyas is now in the process of printing.

Our project of distributing framed posters of Wetland Birds, common birds, Butterfly and Poisonous Snakes in all the schools of Surat (1200) will cost about 2.5 Lakhs. Members are requested to donate/collect funds for this project. Currently, about Rs.50,000 have been collected.

With monsoon, comes the nesting season of birds. At Gavier Wetland protection area, this year Paradise flycatcher, Browze wing  Jacana, Purple moor hen,  Whistling teal, Baya weaver are nesting.

Wishing you a very happy birding & tree planting.

                                                                                                         Activities

Vulture Conservation Project

Vultures are vanishing at an alarming rate from Asia - probably our grand children will never see them. It has already vanished from 90 percent of our countryside where they were common, India’s vulture population is reduced by more than 95% in last decade. Largest factor behind this is the veterinary medicine Diclofenac used widely to treat cattle. It is just a pain killer and when the cattle die, if this dead carcass is eaten by vultures, they die due to gout, uric acid formation and eventually renal failure

Under high pressure from BNHS and other NGO’s the drug controller general of India has banned this medicine on 11 June, with eventual phase out which ended on 11 August 2006. But no one is sure whether a case can be filed against the druggist or Pharmaceutical Company if the drug is available after 11 August.

In Gujarat, as per data collected by GEER foundation with the help of NGO’s and birdwatchers of Gujarat the population of vultures was around 2500 in 2004, this year the count may not even be 1500.

Bird conservation Society of Gujarat and Nature Club Surat has initiated an awareness and conservation program to save the remaining vultures of Gujarat in association with local NGO’s like Flamingo Nature Club of Mahwah, Vulture conservation society Rajula, Paxi Savrakshan Mandal Kodinar, Penguin Nature Club Ahmedabad, Shivbhadrasinhji Nature Club Bhavnagar, Vihang (News letter for birdwatchers in Gujarati Language).

Gujarat Bird Conservation Society’s Vulture Cell and Nature Club Surat initiated activities in Gujarat for vulture conservation.

1. Regular data collection at all the important breeding/ roosting sites of vultures in Gujarat.
2. Monitoring major nesting sites at Mahuva, Rajula, Kodinar, Morbi, Ahmedabad and Surat.
3. Organizing awareness programs at Surat, Mahuva, Rajula, Kodinar, Junagadh, for which a slide show and booklet in Gujarati (25000 copies) has been produced.
4. Organizing veterinary doctors and drug sellers meet at Surat, Mahuva, Kodinar and Rajla.
5. Writing letters to 1785 Panjarapoles (cattle shelter house) all over India in local languages.
6. Writing to 980 bird watchers of Gujarat with an appeal to check at local veterinary drug stores whether Diclofenac is still available, if so request them to send it back.
7. Zerox copy of Diclofenac ban circular received from Dr.Vibhuprakash of BNHS is sent to 980 bird watchers, 2700 eco clubs, all registered veterinary doctors of Gujarat and all panjarapoles of Gujarat requesting them to check the drug in stores.
8. A freezer has been placed at Mahuva to store dead vultures, before shifting them to Pinjore for analysis by BNHS.
9. T-shirts with Save vulture logos are produced for volunteers and students involved in school programs.
10. Monitoring of vulture nesting sites by employing a full time local volunteer at Mahuva, providing binocular and close circuit cameras to keep watch over the nest.
11. Checking regularly at important vulture feeding Panjarapoles for use of Diclofenac.
12. Also the video documentary ‘Vanishing Vultures’ sent by Mr.Chris Bowden of RSPB and Mr.Vibhuprakash of BNHS is being used to create awareness. More than 50 copies of this documentary have made and are being shown to veterinary doctors and school children around the major vulture breeding/roosting sites in Gujarat.
13. Sharing data with other agencies interested in this work.

During our programs with veterinary doctors, we have found that Government veterinary doctors are ready to use alternative medicines but private veterinary doctors argue that as the alternative medicine Meloxicam is three times costlier (Rs.45) against Diclofenac (Rs.15) how can we use it?

Also we have found that there are many unqualified illiterate veterinary doctors who are ready to use the alternate costlier medicine to save vultures. They want us to give them photographs of the medicine bottles which they should not use.

During meetings with the trusties of panjarapoles it is observed that some of them are aware of this problem and have instructed their staff not to use this medicine. But on checking at Panjarapoles we have found that use of Diclofanec has not stopped or reduced.

Other problem is Chamars who come to remove skin from carcasses, they do not leave until 4 PM and then on an average 50 to 100 dogs swarm the carcasses and the vultures just do not get a chance to come near the carcass to eat, by then the vultures have to leave for their return journey otherwise they will not get any thermals. At the major sites in Gujarat they have to travel 40 to 70 kms from their roosting site to feeding sites near panjarapoles.

We have observed that usually about 15% to 20% of the birds roosting at one place are nesting. At one  of the highest populated roosting site of Gujarat at Mahuva out of 150 birds counted last year, 26 nested, this year there  were only 97 birds and 27 nests were made, out of which 3 chicks died(only one baby per nest is raised every year) and 24 flew away. But during last count in April only 67 birds were left. One baby has fallen down in July and had fracture, the baby died after 10 days. It was being cared for by the Gujarat Forest Department Staff and local BCSG Volunteer Ruchi Dave.

When we visited the two major vulture roosting sites at Mahuva and Rajula we found three dead birds at each place, from the condition of carcass they must have died in a period of 8 to 10 days. Even prior to our visit, we were receiving messages of vultures dying at the rate of two per week.

Also our kite flying festival is a big threat to these large birds. Last year in Ahmedabad alone 26 vultures were injured due to glass coated threads cutting their wings or legs. They were rescued by BNHS doctors, Animal Help Foundation, Forest Department and Penguin Nature Club Members.

In Mahuva and Rajula the birds nests on coconut trees and hence the nest are at the height of 60 to 70 feet, we had to employee a coconut tree climber Mr.Hakkabhai who is very much interested in vultures and is member of local Flamingo Nature Club.

We provided him binocular and with his help close circuit cameras were fitted in adjoining trees to keep a close watch on the nests. A portable screen was used to monitor from ground. We learned that the chicks were receiving food only once in a day and that too several crows used to harass the mother when she feeds the chick. One of the parents has to stay with the chick, otherwise the crows will scare the chick and push it off the nest. If one of the parents dies due to Diclofenac or other reasons, the surviving parent bird goes in search of food and this turns out to be dangerous time for the chicks.

At one of the major feeding site of vultures near Surat Panjarapole where we used to count 150 to 200 birds two years back, not a single bird has landed in last 6 months due to disturbance from a huge powerhouse under construction just half a km away.

Also their roosting site at Hazira about 50 kms away from feeding site, the land on which there were tall palm trees on which there were 12 nests is acquired by a steel mill for expansion. So here as well, the population is likely to suffer a lot. We are trying to convince the mill authorities to make a green belt and leave these trees undisturbed.

Also over here in Hazira, the palm tree leafs are cut every year, for using them on roof tops of huts and cattle sheds. We are trying to convince the local people not to cut leaf of the trees on which the birds are roosting or nesting. The local school children are also made aware of this by organizing special vulture awareness programs in schools. BCSG members Kartik Shastri, Viral Prajapati, Indra Ghadvi, Ruchi Dave are involved in these awareness programs.

In this industrial area twice several buffalos had died after consuming poisonous water and more than 100 vultures had landed near the carcass, but we had to scare them away and got the carcass buried with help of bulldozer at a significant cost.

We have started talking with trusties of Panjarapoles to build a compound wall around the carcass dumping site and allow chamars only for morning half day, so that in other half part of the day vultures can eat without disturbance from dogs within the walled area.

The coconut trees at Mahuva & Rajula also gets damaged due to heavy weight of vultures and their excreta restricts growth of coconuts, hence the farmers wants compensation. They did receive Rs.500 per tree from state forest department.

Only hope for these birds now is captive breeding, BNHS has already started two captive breeding centers, one at Pinjore in Haryana and other at Boxa in North Bengal. Unless 2 or 3 more centers are not started immediately in Western & Southern part of India, we may not have enough birds to release back into the wild, when the danger of Diclofenac is no more and food sources are protected.

Also to build a breeding center the initial cost itself is Rs.1 crore apart from land as per BNHS experience and running annual expenses 25 Lacs per annum for 150 birds per center. We hope that Government takes some concrete steps to implement the Diclofenac ban and funding of captive breeding centers to save these birds from vanishing for ever.

The Diclofenac phase out period is over on 11 August but no one is clear about what action can be taken if the killer drug is still sold, manufactured or used by veterinary doctors.

Monsoon Camps in Dangs

With beginning of Monsoons, a new life flourishes in the Dangs. Suddenly, the deciduous forests are green and bursting with life. The streams, which had dried up or disappeared, are in full flow and every corner of the hill is lined with waterfalls and the streams making way through dense bamboo thickets.

Our club conducted 2 batches of Monsoon camps in the Dangs. The participants had the opportunity to be familiar with the birdlife, plant life and insect life. The participants also had a good time enjoying the lush green forest, streams and water falls.

SPCA Report

Volunteers of our Club had attended various calls in last few months. A large number of birds and reptiles were rescued and cared for.

If you any injured bird, animal or reptile in or around your place, please contact our SPCA wing on the following numbers:

           98250- 57678.

           98254- 80908.

Upcoming Programs

Nature education camp Dangs

What’s better than a winter camp, with songs around lantern fire, hiking, swimming and making new friends? Only one thing  -NATURE EDUCATION CAMP. We take all fun of a regular camp and add something special: Nature study and exciting adventures and experiences to  develop love for nature.

Set deep amidst the most beautiful and dense part of Gujarat’s thickest forest, be party to songs of the Shama and listen to beckoning of the jungle fowl. Our Nature education camp is designed to help you to discover the wonderful world of nature. It is a change of pace – a chance to learn about the natural history and ecology of our forests.

So this Diwali break, be there! Because, being with nature can be one of the life’s unforgettable experiences.

Activities

Dates:

Batch 1    : 12^th to 15^th Oct, 06

Batch 2    : 15^th to 18^th Oct, 06

Batch 3    : 18^th to 21^st Oct, 06

Batch 4    : 24^th to 27^th Oct, 06

Batch 5    : 27^th to 30^th Oct, 06

Batch 6    : 30^th to 02^nd Nov, 06

Batch 7    : 02^nd to 05^th Nov, 06

Batch 8    : 05^th to 08^th Nov, 06

Fees: Rs 750 for club members, Rs 800 for others.

Age group: 8 years and above.

Please book your seats at the earliest. Please contact Viral. Prajapati.  – 98250-57678.

Butterfly watching

We have arranged for a program on Butterfly watching at the Eco-Farm. This will be carried out on Sunday mornings at 7.00am at the farm, opp. DPS School, Vesu –Abhwa road,  Surat.

For details contact: 

Viral Prajapati  – 98250-57678.

Saurabh Desai  –  98257-03993.

Mountaineering Knot Practice

On every Sunday, we have arranged a program, where interested members can join us to learn various knots and techniques used in mountaineering.

Be present at the club on Sundays, at 6.00pm, if you would like to participate.

Our educational products 

The Club has some educational products for sale. So if you are interested in buying them please contact Viral Prajapati (98250-57678). These products are:

1.       Poisonous snakes.

2.       Butterflies.

3.       Wetland birds.

4.       Our Birds.

 Also do not miss out our regular programs, Slide shows, Talks and short trips. Visit our weekly meetings on regular basis to stay informed!

Features

Birding observations

                                                - Darshan Jardosh

Survival of the fittest.

Friends, you all must be aware of the fact that he who is fit can only survive in this world. In other words the rule of the world of nature and that is “Survival of the fittest”. And to prove this here is a good incident which I witnessed few days before.

One day early in the morning I saw one whiskered Bulbul looking for something in the knot which was tied between the bamboos. It struggled for almost one and a half minute. But when failed in getting something it flew away. After a minute or so I saw one Tailor bird on the same place doing the same thing as the whiskered bulbul. To my astonished it was successful in finding 8 big black ants. Immediately it called for other two of its mates to join the feast. All of them gathered and had one ant each. Suddenly the whiskered bulbul which had flown away came back with the other two of its friends and chased all the tailor birds from there. There after started eating the black ants which were left by the tailor birds.

This shows and proves that in this world one who is fit can only survive.

A new house of sparrow

Here is an interesting event that I would like to share with all of you out there. You might have come across many times in life seeing a nest of a bird. And you all are aware of the places where sparrows normally built their nests? But today I have come up with a very funny incident and place where I found the sparrow making its nest.

One morning my neighbor called me and I went to her place rushing. She showed me a nest. It was a nest of a sparrow. On asking her I came to know that this nest was built in hours and not in days. I phoned my colleague to come and take a picture of this unique nest. This nest was built using kite thread, dry grass, feathers, sticks of broom, and also some dry sticks of wild Acacia. But still it was a unique nest.  

The lady next door had spread clothes on a string after washing them the previous day. In the morning next day when she went to get them found this nest. Imagine a nest, which was made in the sleeves of a half pant (shorts). Isn’t it funny? This made the nest unique. After a while we came to know that the sparrow also had made another nest a month ago and this time it was in the pocket of a Cargo Jeans. (A six pocket jeans)!!!   

Indian rock python breeding in captivity without artificial incubation.

                                                - Snehal Patel

One day our volunteer received a snake call and from there a python was rescued. On examining, we found it to be a female and that too mother to be. I then decided to keep her until she laid the eggs and so she was kept in an enclosure in my backyard.

Earlier we used to incubate the python eggs in a plastic bag, by removing them from underneath the mother. But this time we thought of incubating the eggs in the natural way. When the eggs were laid on 1^st of May 2006, we left them with the mother itself and we only controlled the humidity and temperature. And on monitoring we found that the result was positive and we had succeeded in our experiment. Only 3 eggs turned black and were rotten.

After the eggs were laid, the mother coiled around the clutch with almost no part of the eggs visible. She did not move from that place for 63 days till the eggs started hatching on 4^th July.2006. When the eggs were laid in summer the temperature was around 36 to 38*C., which was much higher than the required 28*C that is 80*F, and also the humidity way 72 in the cage instead of 80.

The eggs were in an enclosure where partly sunlight could enter. But to reduce the temperature and increase the humidity our club volunteers decided to cover the cage with jute bags. They sprinkled water on the jute bags every two hours. Apart from this we had also placed a fan behind the cage when the temperature went too high. Even the surrounding place was kept wet to avoid more heat. A continuous recording of temperature and humidity was been done with the help of a hand held portable meter and also a thermometer was placed inside the enclosure.

By the end of June, monsoon was in full swing and so we had to take care that the eggs did not get wet. The enclosure was covered with plastic properly and due care was taken to prevent water entering inside.

From our past experience, we knew that any time after 60 days the eggs will start hatching and so we had fixed a close circuit camera in the enclosure which was then connected to the T.V. inside our house. On 63^rd day we saw the first crack appear on one egg and by evening two heads were popping out of two eggs.

It was celebration time for our volunteers, as it was our first attempt to do natural incubation in captivity. But on the other hand we were a bit worried as rains had started and it was heavily pouring by night. We were having a close look with the help of the camera attached to the T.V. and we found that the mother was very uneasy and had moved her head little bit towards the entrance of the enclosure as it was raining heavily. We were horrified by the scene near the enclosure as we found that there was almost half a foot of water nearby and the water by now had started entering the enclosure. We were also afraid of the eggs getting wet if the rain continued for more time. At almost 11.30p.m., we had to mount a rescue operation in half a foot of water. It appeared as if the mother was trying to scare the water away.

The mother was still found on the eggs with few babies popping their heads out. We were afraid that in moving the mother hastily would not harm any egg or the babies. But to our surprise, when one of our volunteer entered the enclosure in such heavy rains, the mother moved away from the eggs gently. All the eggs were transferred safely into a plastic tub and covered with plastic sheets and were shifted into a smaller enclosure in our house. 

The babies kept on popping their heads out of the eggs for the next 2 to 3 days. After that they started coming out in full one by one during the night when there was no disturbance. We noticed that all the babies kept on yawning several times before coming out of the eggs. After all the eggs were hatched we measured all of them and found the average length of the babies to be 55cms and weight around 135 grams.

The mother started eating from the very next day when food was placed before her. And the babies started eating after their first molting, which was after 10 days that is to say when they were 10 days old.

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Last modified: July 09, 2008